ESL Blogs

The sports world getting ready to welcome 'Olympic'. Lets learn little bit about Olympic today. Although we heard about this many times before, It's good to remind ourselves.

When were the first Olympic games started?

The Greeks loved sport and the Olympic Games. The first known Olympic Games was recorded in around 776 BC in Olympia, South West Greece. The Olympic games began over 2,700 years ago. The ancient games were also related to their religious festival celebrated in honor of Zeus, the king of Gods.

What is a truce for the sacred games?

Before the Olympic games started, messengers were sent out to publicize a sacred truce or a peace. That means any wars should stop so people could travel safely to Olympia.

Some of the sporting events at the ancient Olympics

Running

In this event the runners wearing armour and carrying a shield, could weigh up to 25Kg!

The competitors lined up along a starting block. If some one accidentally tried to get a head start they were disqualified and beaten for cheating.

Discus

In this game, athletes would compete to throw a stone or a metal discus as far as they could. The discus was much larger and heavier than the ones we use today

Javelin

The old Javelins were sharpened wooden sticks with metal point  at the end.

Long Jump

The ancient long jump is entirely different from the modern day ones. There was no run up and jumpers propelled themselves by swinging weights called halteres in their arms. The lovely thing come with this is athlete would be accompanied by a man playing flute. They used the rhythm of the music to their jump.

Wrestling and boxing

The ancient wrestling is lot more violent than the modern ones. Pankration is the toughest event with hardly any rules. The two things competitors should avoid is bite or poke in their eyes. The fighters wore leather gloves and boxer was allowed to keep hitting the opponent even after he knocked him to the ground.

Horse racing

Horse race took place on a race track called hippodrome. Spectators watched from the sides of the nearby hills. Only the owners of the horse considered as the winners, not the jockeys.

Olympic and Women

Only boys, men and unmarried women were allowed to participate at the ancient Olympic. Married women barred from attending the games. If they were caught, they could be thrown off the side of a mountain for punishment!

What prizes did Olympic victors get?

A victor received a crown made from olive leaves and entitled to have a statue of himself set up at Olympia.

History of flame & torch

The ancient Greeks were believed that fire was given to human by Prometheus and considered that fire got sacred qualities. mirror were used to focus the sun's rays to ignite flames that would burn perpetually in front of Greek temples. Greek rituals also included torch relays, although its not part of Olympic games.

Dear Friends, Thank you so much for taking your time reading. I really appreciate it. Hope you find it useful.Thank you!